The Return
by CSOllie21
Summary: Rewritten ending of The Code of Claw and what happens next Its been 5 years since Gregor left the Underland... terrible summary but i don't want to give away the plot rated T for paranoia
1. Prolouge

**So, I'm not going to lie, I love TUC (The Underland Chronicles) but I hated the ending of CoC (Code of Claw) so I decided to rewrite it. The Prologue is the ending of CoC that I have rewritten, and the chapters after that will be what I think happened next. I realize I am not as great of a writer as Ms Collins, but then again if I was I wouldn't be writing on this website.**

**Disclaimer: Can I ask you a question, if I seriously owned ANY of this then why would I be writing on **_**this website? And why would I be changing the ending of my own book? I mean seriously…**_

**Anything between * * is directly from Gregor and the Code of Claw.**

**Here it is, please R&R, enjoy!**

(This picks up in the middle of Chapter 24 in Gregor and the Code of Claw)

Prologue

*"I've got to get closer if I'm going to take him out!"* said Gregor. "Ares, I need to be on the ground." The expression on Ares' face was one that Gregor was glad he was not able to see.

"That means death!" Ares cried out as they flew in circles at the very top of the cavern just out of the Banes reach. "I refuse to allow it!" Gregor growled in frustration.

"With your wingspan there is no way that I can get close enough to do serious damage! This is the only way!" He knew he was right; he just wished he wasn't. Underneath them the Bane was following them with his eyes, every once in awhile running below them in a circle, inadvertently making himself very dizzy.

"There is another option Overlander, there must be!" Ares argued. "Let us think about it for a few minutes. There is no danger of the Bane escaping the cavern and I am not tiring anytime soon." Both flier and human looked down at that moment. The Bane was foaming at the mouth his eyes screaming for their blood as he ran around beneath them in circles. Wait, running, in circles? Running in circles. That was it. Gregor grinned as he realized what they could do to stop the Bane with minimal danger to himself and Ares. He bent down on Ares' back and whispered his plan in the bats ear. The bat nodded and so they began to execute their plan.

Ares flew back and forth, did loops and spirals, and went in circles for a good 20 minutes. It was a good thing that he was so strong otherwise the plan never would have worked. As Gregor had predicted the Bane followed them and slowly he began to tire. Gregor could hear intense panting and he could almost feel the strain of the Banes muscles as he forced them onward. After thoroughly confusing and dizzying the Bane, Ares' tried a new tactic. He flew from one wall to the opposite as fast as he could, stopping a mere breath away from the rocky edge. Then he switched directions and did this again, all the while the Bane was following.

Ares tried this tactic for awhile and when the Bane had run himself into the wall a total of 7 times Gregor watched as he stopped in the center of the Cavern and stood, swaying slightly from side to side, a dazed albeit demented look in his eyes. Gregor squeezed Ares with his legs signaling his descent.

Ares angled down and shot straight for the Bane, his wings clamped to his sides. Gregor kneeled on Ares back and jumped and lashed with his sword as they passed the Bane. The Bane stuck out his claws as Ares opened his wings to make the ascent back to the top of the cavern leaving Gregor to face the Bane on the ground like they had agreed. The wing tore but Ares kept flying until he reached a small ledge near the ceiling of the cavern and latched onto it with his claws, waiting until Gregor needed him again. This had all happened in the space of 1 second and Gregor now turned to face the Bane. Even though the Bane was disoriented he was still lethal and he lashed out quickly at Gregor who instantly returned the favor with his sword. There was no pausing here, no time to think about his next move, it was all instinctive, a mess of fur, skin, teeth, claws, and the flash of silver. At the exact moment that Gregor's sword pierced the Banes heart 2 things happened. One, Ares flipped off the ledge and, despite his maimed wing, flew down to retrieve his bond, and two the banes claw gashed Gregor's leg, deep enough so the bone was visible.

The Bane died instantly as the blood pooled around him from his many wounds inflicted by Gregor's sword. Gregor on the other hand, cried out in pain and crumpled. Luckily Ares swooped down and managed to catch Gregor on his back. The blood flowed from Gregor's leg and Ares' wing as the bat grimaced through the pain and attempted to fly them back to Regalia. It didn't matter what Ripred thought about the prophecies, it seemed like Sandwich was right, The Warrior would die. Gregor's last thought before he passed out was not directed towards Ripred however, it was to a silver-haired girl who he had sent to the dungeons, _"Forgive me Luxa."_

Something cold was placed on his forehead. He groaned and upon slowly blinking his eyes open, encountered a bright light which temporarily blinded him. While waiting for his vision to clear Gregor began to think. "Where am I?" He wondered and it was only when a familiar voice answered that Gregor remembered what had happened.

"You are currently in the hospital at Regalia." A weary, slightly forced cheerful voice responded.

"Howard." Gregor replied, chancing to open his eyes again and blinking in the direction of the voice.

"Overlander." Came the reply. Gregor squinted and Howard's blurry form became clear. Good he could see now.

"Howard what's going on? Why am I here? How did I get here? Where is Ares? Oh god Ares, his wing was torn he lost a lot of blood. The Bane, the Bane is dead. I killed him. Where is everyone? Where are Boots and Lizzie? Where is Ripred? Where's…" Gregor paused in his relentless stream of questioning unsure of whether or not mentioning Luxa would make Howard angry or upset since he had told Gregor that a relationship between Gregor and Luxa was a very bad idea. Howard however didn't seem to notice the awkward pause.

"You have many questions Overlander," Howard remarked before continuing, "The war has ended for two days now, you have been asleep for four. You are in the hospital because you suffered a severe injury to the leg and lost a lot of blood. I'm not sure of the details of how you arrived; you will have to ask Luxa that question as she is the one who found you. Ares is fine, he is in the hospital like yourself but for over exhaustion, not his wing. I am not sure of the exact whereabouts of the specific people you listed but I do know that they are all well and somewhere in the castle. And Luxa is safe and in the palace as well." Howard added with a knowing smile. "Oh and there is someone here who wants to see you."

"Gregor?" Gregor glanced confused at Howard. That voice it sounded like…but it couldn't be…his dad was in the Overland...but that voice…Howard said nothing but nodded and slowly backed out of the room, clearing Gregor's line of sight allowing the man standing in the doorway to come into focus.

"Dad!" Gregor grinned as his dad hastened to his bedside.

"Hey buddy, how are you feeling? You gave your sisters and I quite a scare showing up by the river covered in blood." His dad's voice was soft and soothing; it made Gregor want to cry. He was so sick of being the warrior, of killing and being a hero, he just wanted to be a normal kid.

"Dad," was all Gregor could say as he succumbed to the tears that had been threatening to fall. Sobs racked his body as he let out all the emotion he had been forced to bottle up when he was the "warrior". But now, here, alone except for his dad, he could cry for the sights and the dangers he had seen and the blood he had spilled.

"Shhh bud, it's ok, it's going to be ok." His dad held him and whispered calming words into his ear, effectively soothing Gregor until the only sign that he had been crying were very red, bloodshot eyes. "Now do you want to tell me what's going on?" His dad asked quietly, Gregor nodded and took a deep breath, and began to speak.

He told his Dad about the 'picnic', the avalanche, the Volcano, the currents, the flood. He talked about Luxa starting the war and how there was a prophecy no one would tell him about. He told him about finally reading the prophecy and the battles and the bloodshed that accompanied the war. He talked about the code breakers and the final fight against the Bane, and he talked about Luxa. About how he sent her to the dungeons and how she would never speak to him again. He talked until he couldn't talk anymore and it was only when he finished that he realized something.

"Wait, I'm not dead." Gregor voiced his newfound discovery with wonder.

"No you aren't." His dad agreed with a slight smile on his face.

"But, Sandwich said-"

"Didn't I tell you boy that Sandwiches prophecies are crap?" A gruff voice was heard coming from the doorway and Gregor turned quickly to look at where the sound came from, his muscles aching in protest.

"Ripred!"

"Yes boy that is my name, I'm glad you can at least remember that." The mocking voice coming at him was so familiar and it sounded so anticlimactic that Gregor laughed out loud.

"And what may I ask is so funny?" The rat asked, who was at this time eating something out of a container he carried in one paw.

"Nothing it's just, the Bane is dead and I'm not dead and it seems like something should have changed but it's not, everything is the same as it was before."

Ripred snorted. "You obviously have not heard the news if you think everything is the same."

"What news?" Gregor asked, imagining something terrible like the rats taking control of Regalia, or something like that.

"Your girlfriend is now officially Queen of Regalia. The coronation was yesterday." He licked his paws unceremoniously. "And the remaining members of the council are having a fit because the arrangement is that until Her Highness turns 16 she and the council rule together, which, as you can imagine, is working beautifully."

"Wait, can we go back to the girlfriend thing?" Gregor's dad grinned and looked from Ripred, who shrugged, to Gregor whose neck and face burned red as he stared pointedly away from both Ripred and his father.

"She's not my girlfriend, and before either of you say anything, the last thing she said to me was that she hated me."

Ripred just gave him a look which Gregor took to mean, that's what you think boy, and his dad smiled knowingly at him. Before either of them could broach the subject again Gregor quickly thought of another thing to get them talking.

"Dad, why are you here?" Gregor was puzzeled, how could his dad have known to come down, where were his mom and his grandma? Were they all going back up again?

Gregor's dad's face took on a grave appearance and Ripred said, in as subdued a tone that Gregor had ever heard him speak, "Well I'll just leave you alone then." And he slunk off, presumably to the kitchens to stuff himself with more food.

"Well son, Vikus put a scroll in the grate the day after your battle with the Bane telling me that I needed to come down as soon as I could and that a bat would be waiting for me at midnight. I met the bat and came to Regalia where they explained that there had been a war and while you were severely injured, they thought that you would recover. In the meantime they told me that your sisters were both fine, a little shaken by what had happened to you, but fine nonetheless. They um, they also told me that your mom is healthy now, and as soon as you're healed, well we're going home, and son, …we are never coming back."

It had been three days since Gregor's dad had told him that they were leaving for good. His leg was beginning to heal, and while Howard said it was going to take awhile, he would at some point regain full use of it, for which he was very grateful. He could now, using a crutch much like the one Mareth used, take short walks around the palace, which is what he was doing at this moment. Except today wasn't like the other days. Today he was going to seek out the one person who hadn't visited him in the hospital. His dad and Ripred had both been regular visitors, Lizzie and Boots had both come to see him, his mom came, and Vikus, Dulcet, even Ares hopped through the cramped hallways uncomfortably to see his bond. But Luxa, she never came to see him, not once. Ripred said that she was always busy, but so was he trying to negotiate peace with the rats yet _he_ still found time to come. By now Gregor was sick of the waiting and the lame excuses. He wanted to find her and he wanted to find her _now._ Gregor noticed he was receiving stares from the castle residents he passed and he could hardly wonder why. He supposed he looked kind of funny to them, their great warrior who was supposed to be dead according to the prophecy, hobbling around the castle with a cane. At this point he was beyond caring what they thought. If his mom got her way they would soon be leaving, not just the Underland, but New York as well. His dad had told him that once they left, they would be finally going to live on the farm in Virginia like his mom had planned a lifetime ago. Remembering this made Gregor want to find Luxa all the more, and he quickened his pace. He had already checked the High Hall, her living quarters, the rest of the hospital, even the arena and the training grounds but she was nowhere to be found. He was running out of ideas when suddenly he thought of something. He did a quick 180 startling the maid that was walking behind him, and charged in the opposite direction towards his new destination.

When Gregor reached the solid oak doors he hesitated. Now that he was finally here what was he going to say to her? Hi how are you just didn't seem right in a situation like this. _Come on Gregor, you're a rager, a warrior, this shouldn't be this hard. You don't even know if she is in there!_ He thought and steeling himself for the worst he slowly pushed open the museum door. Sitting in the middle of the floor surrounded by a stack of pictures that was so familiar, sat a girl. She was no more than 12 years old but on her shoulders rested the weight of her people. Outside she had peace treaties to negotiate, armies to train, a younger brother to care for and wounded to heal but here in this room all Gregor could see was an orphan girl who had lost everything she held dear. She looked up as Gregor took a step inside and let the door swing shut and he could see that she had been crying, although she tried to hide it.

"I've been looking for you." The words were out before Gregor could stop them and he blushed and looked at his feet.

"Have you? And to what purpose?" Luxa asked putting on a queenly air which annoyed Gregor.

"To talk to you!" He answered quickly.

"Well, I am here. You may speak." Her cold, distant tone was the last straw and Gregor snapped.

"What do you mean I 'may speak'? You are not the boss of me, you can't tell me what to do! I know you're angry and upset and hurt but I did what was right and you and I both know it. You don't have to like it or me but you have to accept that what I did, I did because I care about you. And I don't know if you got the note I sent you or not but what I said I meant and I still mean. And, I'm leaving in a few days, leaving for good and I…I don't want to…I want to stay here with you but I can't and…and…and God Luxa I just don't know anymore! I don't know how to act around you, before I left, we, we kissed and now you won't even look at me…" and it was true. Excluding the quick glance when he had first entered the room Luxa still hadn't looked Gregor in the eyes and it was pissing him off. "Why can't you even look at me? Are you really still mad at me about the stupid dungeon thing? I'm not going to apologize for saving your life. I can't do that. Not when I'm leaving. I just don't want to spend our last days together fighting." His voice trailed off and he stared at Luxa's back. Her form was stiff, unmoving and he sighed, the sound echoing off the stone walls. He turned and opened the door, his emotions reeling as he limped into the hallway. He couldn't believe that she hadn't stopped him from leaving the room, he couldn't believe she hadn't even looked at him! That was just…

"Gregor!" He heard the oak doors slam shut and turned to find himself face-face with the same girl he had just left. She stood 2 feet away from him looking proud. Her shoulders were thrown back, her eyes glinting like steel, Gregor expected to yell at him, to berate him, anything but what she did. Before his eyes her posture collapsed and all the barriers she seemed to have put up, vanished. He took a step towards her and she crumpled into his arms. She wasn't crying, he noticed, she just seemed…tired. No exhausted. His arm that wasn't gripping the crutch was around her waist and her head was resting on his shoulder as she breathed heavily. It was some time before she pulled away and Gregor saw the dark purple circles under her eyes. Without taking his eyes off her, he reached around and reopened the door to the museum before taking her hand and leading her inside.

"Luxa I don't understand" Gregor began but Luxa cut him off. She looked at him for a long time and then her stiff, formal posture returned. She took a step back and Gregor's heart sank, her eyes were different then they had been in the hallway though. Before they were fierce, defiant; now he saw regret and sadness and he didn't know what to make of it.

"Gregor, I'm…sorry. My behavior towards you has been inexcusable and I apologize. But my life is not easy now and, and I do not need distractions." Wait, she wasn't talking about _him_…was she? Before he could protest she continued. "I know that this does not seem fair, especially after how I, we, acted before, but with my duties as queen and you're pending depature, a…a relationship is not wise." Gregor couldn't believe what he was hearing. He came to find her and tell her in person what his note had said but here she was, crushing all of that with a few measly sentences. Gregor could feel his heart beat wildly and suddenly he was angry. He was angry at Ripred and his Dad for encouraging this, he was angry at Howard because he had originally been right about their relationship not working, he was angry at his mom for making them leave, he was angry at the council for putting extra stress on Luxa, Luxa for what had just happened. But mostly he was angry at himself, for believing that things could work when obviously he wasn't good enough for a queen. He was so angry he didn't know what to do or say,so he turned and stalked out of the room without a backwards glance. If he had, he would have seen a 12 year old girl push a heavy crown back on her head, a tear sliding down her cheek.


	2. Prolouge Part 2

**Disclaimer: Me: "Hey Suzanne?"**

** Suzanne: "What is it _now?_"**

** Me: "Can i borrow your series to write on a fanfiction website as long as i don't take any credit for it?"**

** Suzanne "Sure"  
**

**There you have it folks as you can OBVIOUSLY see, i wouldn't be asking her permission if i owned the series now would i? Think people think!  
**

Prologue Part 2

Gregor growled in frustration as he stalked purposefully through the halls, his mind in every direction as a result of his tumultuous emotions. He was so focused on his anguish that he didn't see the hairy mass straight in front of him.

"Oof." Gregor gasped as he slammed into the aforementioned hairy mass.

"Watch it! Oh it's you." Ripred exclaimed angrily and then lazily. "And where is my little love struck rager off to with such a purpose, to see his girlfriend?"

"Leave me alone Ripred." Gregor muttered and tried to shove past him, but the rat blocked his way.

"Ooh trouble in paradise I see." Ripred sounded amused which annoyed Gregor.

"What paradise? Does this seem like paradise to you? Paradise is an island, with sun and water and sand and no worries, no sarcastic giant rats or cutters, there are no wars no stress, and no queens." He added sadly. "All I see here is rock, problems everywhere I turn, and a rat who doesn't have his own life so he spends his time picking on me. Well I'm sick of it here but I don't want to go home. There's nothing for me there and apparently there's nothing here for me either. I don't belong anywhere. Is that paradise? Because if it is I don't want Paradise! I want normal! I just want my life to be normal!" Gregor's chest heaved and his eyes shone with tears that he angrily wiped away as he stared defiantly at Ripred, who was looking at him with an odd look on his face. It almost seemed like…pity.

It was a while before he spoke. "Well Gregor it sounds like you've got your fair share of problems and I'm sorry but I'm here to deliver more bad news, Howard and your parents are looking for you. You're completely healed, you're leaving tomorrow."

Gregor stood on a balcony in the suite given to his parents. He looked at the swirling darkness below him broken only by the lights of the city. He didn't know what to do. He had one night left. That was it. Then they would arrive in New York only to hop on a plane to Virginia the next day. There was no time for anything except goodbyes. He glanced down again, before seeming to make up his mind and without another thought he stepped off the wall into the vast nothing below.

He was free-falling for only a second before he landed on the familiar fur of Ares back. He buried his face in the black coat and sighed. "Ares."

"Overlander, I know. But we will still be bonds even while you are in this, Vir-gin-i-a you are going to."

Gregor nodded, his throat closed up and he couldn't speak. "Fly you high Ares, fly you very high." He managed to choke out.

"The same to you, Gregor." They flew in silence for while, both enjoying each other's company alone for what would be one of the last times.

"Overlander if I may I would add something." Ares began hesitatingly. "Queen Luxa, is under much pressure from everyone. She is expected to do the right thing. But she is young, she knows not what that is, and you…being….is complicating her further. Do not take personally what she told you. She knows not what she says." Gregor sat in shocked silence. That was one of, if not _the _longest speech he had ever heard Ares speak. Neither spoke for the rest of their 3 hour flight to nowhere. Each reveled in the comfort they felt with each other.

Too soon, for both of them, Gregor had to return to the palace. When Ares dropped him off at the balcony, he said nothing, he stuck out his bonding claw and Gregor grasped it with tears in his eyes.

"Tomorrow." Gregor said quietly, Ares nodded his agreement and flew away, slowly becoming a black dot in a sea of blackness. Gregor watched as he faded into the background and turned, only to find that the balcony he was on wasn't the right balcony. There was no way Ares would make a mistake like that, it must have been intentional and as Gregor turned to the doorway he saw what the reason that Ares had dropped him here.

Inside he could just make out a bed and on that bed he saw her. She was tossing fitfully and her sheets had been kicked clean off the bed. As he got closer to her he could hear her groaning and mumbling and he saw the tear-stains on her cheeks and pillow. His heart broke and he retrieved her covers, lightly tucking them in around her without waking her up (he had a lot of practice with 2 younger sisters) and he couldn't resist sitting on the edge of the bed. He just stared at her, knowing this would be the last time he would be able to do so and as she turned and moaned he whispered softly to her. "Shhh," he murmered, "you're ok, I'm here." He brushed the back of his hand along her cheek and she instinctively curled around his warmth. "Gregor" she sighed in her sleep and was immediately peaceful, a small smile on her lips. He bent down and kissed her forehead before getting up and walking to the door. "Sleep well…You'll make a great queen." And he shut the door.

Getting out of bed the next morning was the hardest thing he ever had to do. He dressed silently, avoiding all conversation with his parents and his sisters. They were to be leaving first thing today, they wouldn't even be having breakfast, Grace wanted them out of there as soon as humanly possible. They grabbed their things and went to the High Hall where they were to be seen off.

They opened the doors and Gregor smiled sadly at the group of people who had gathered to say goodbye. Mareth, Vikus, Ripred, Howard, Nike, Nerissa, Perdita, Temp, the code breakers, Hazard, and Ares were there. Lizzie sprinted immediately to Ripred who gathered her up in his front paws murmuring soothingly to her as she cried, and the code breakers gathered forlornly around them. Boots ran to Temp and climbed on his back. "Boots go for ride Temp!" she shouted. "We go for ride." Temp clicked sadly "Princess" was all he said as he took her for one last ride, although she didn't know it. Gregors dad went to Vikus, Mareth, and Perdita while Grace walked over to Howard and Nike, to thank them for their 'hospitality' Gregor thought bitterly as he went to his bond. It did not escape him that neither Luxa nor Aurora were there to say goodbye nor did it surprise him, although it hurt. He and Ares didn't say anything. They had said their goodbyes the night before, now they just stood next to each other, as Gregor surveyed the people, the friends he would leave behind and he felt sick to his stomach. He couldn't believe that he wasn't going to return to what he now considered his home. Too soon, the goodbyes were over and the party going to the dop=off point at Central Park mounted their bats. Grace and Lizzie were on Vikus' Bond, and Gregor's dad and Boots were on Nike to give Gregor alone time with his bond. Just as Ares claws left the floor of the High Hall, the doors burst open. Ares stopped and simply hovered, waiting to see what the commotion was all about, Gregor stared. In the doorway stood Luxa. Her silvery hair was a mess and even from the distance he was at Gregor could see that her eyes were red and puffy, but he didn't care. Ares touched down and Gregor slid off his back as the entire company went silent. Luxa hadn't moved from her spot in the doorway and Gregor slowly made his way over to her, each step echoing off of the concrete floors.

"Hello." She said as he reached her. He said nothing, he was angry at her, for not speaking to him, for ruining their last days together, he wanted to be angry with her, but as he stood before her in stoic silence, he saw her face falter then fall and tears well in eyes, his anger broke like a dam and he wrapped his arms around her as she fell into them.

"You came." He whispered so only she could hear.

"Of course." She returned with a sad smile playing at the corners of her mouth. "I am a fool." And the smile was gone, her head tilted towards the ground.

"No." Gregor answered, and he lifted her chin with a finger and almost laughed out loud at the butterflies in his stomach as he leaned forward to kiss her. He could defeat the Bane but he couldn't kiss a girl? It was absurd! But all thoughts were erased from his mind as their lips met. It wasn't a kiss like the ones in the sappy romance movies Gregor's mom liked. It wasn't some over-the-top, overly romantic kiss. It was just two twelve year old kids. But it was enough to make Vikus smile a bittersweet smile, Ripred to nod slowly as if confirming a thought to himself, Howard to grimace then relax accepting what was happening, and for one split second just before the two broke apart, it was enough to make Grace reconsider leaving forever. But just for a second, for when Luxa pulled away, Grace convinced herself that she had imagined it, and everything was back to business.

"Fly you high." Gregor said quietly to Luxa and he climbed slowly onto Ares, never taking his eyes off her face, trying to memorize it now, for the last time.

"Fly you high." She repeated and the tears that she had stopped from falling until this point, slipped down her cheeks like raindrops on a window. But her shoulders were back and she stood proudly as Ares beat his black wings, carrying Gregor away forever.


	3. Chapter 1

**Alright guys, I know it's been awhile since my last update, sorry about that :-)**

**and not to disappoint you agian but this chapter is really just a filler chapter.**

**Hopefully i'll have the next chapter up soon, and then the fun will really begin.**

**Disclaimer: Repeat after me. Ms Collin owns it all. Ms Collins owns it all. Ms Collins owns it all...  
**

The night air was cool on Gregor's tearstained face as he stood on the broken down porch outside the small Virginia home. He couldn't believe all that had happened to him in the past 5 years since leaving the Underland. 5 years was such a long time, the events of his youth felt like a dream, but then the past few months felt like a nightmare. A hideous nightmare that he kept praying to wake up from. He missed his parents, 6 months 5 days 3 hours since his dad and 3 months 14 days 10 hours since his mom. Both of them had relapsed from their Underland illnesses and Gregor had tried to take care of them. He did a good job for a 17 year old kid, but they were all shaken. No one had expected the illnesses to come back, it had been so long. Only Underland doctors can treat Underland illnesses and Gregor wasn't an Underland doctor. So they had passed, leaving Gregor the sole guardian of his two sisters.

Granted, 12 year-old Lizzie wasn't all that hard to care for; she was mature for her age, too mature in Gregor's opinion. He felt terrible that everything that had happened had robbed her of her childhood. Boots on the other hand was a different story, she was a handful, and while Gregor loved her, it was a pain trying to make her understand that she couldn't talk to bugs. He and Lizzie had caught her many times with all sorts of beetles, mice, and cockroaches all over her bedspread and her talking to them like they were people. Whenever the family caught her talking to bugs, Grace got visibly nervous and yelled at Boots, Gregor's dad just sighed and wrung his hands, Lizzie would go to her room and cry, and Gregor would smile sadly, pick Boots up and quietly tell her that "we don't talk to bugs, they can't talk back here." Gregor and Lizzie missed the Underland terribly, and although Grace had banned all talk of "that place" when she was alive, Lizzie would sometimes sneak into Gregor's room after everyone had gone to sleep, and they would talk for hours of the people and the places they had left behind. They made sure that Boots never forgot either, they told her stories whenever their parents would go to the store or leave the house for some other reason.

But everything was different now that his parents were dead. One of their elderly relatives was staying with them until the end of the school year when Gregor, Boots and Lizzie would be put into the foster care system. But Gregor wasn't stupid; he knew the chances of all three of them staying together, especially since he was 17, who wanted to adopt a 17 year old? So they were leaving tonight, they were getting on a plane and going to New York, going home. Gregor wiped the tears off his face, his sisters couldn't know he had been crying, he needed to be strong for them, and he turned around and went back inside to get his sisters. It was time to go.

* * *

"Gregor, you grabbed the tickets right? On the counter? And Boot's bag? And-" Lizzie was sitting in the back of the broken-down pickup truck that had been their fathers, with Boots asleep on her shoulder. Gregor glanced quickly in the rearview mirror at Lizzie, then back at the road. She was headed for a panic attack, he could tell.

"Liz breathes." He commanded swiftly. "I have the tickets right here," he held up the tickets with one hand so she could see them, "Boot's bag is on the seat right next to me," he patted the bag, "and the note is right here." He said cutting off her next question. "I took care of everything. Go to sleep. I'll wake you before we get to the airport." Gregor heard her breathing slow and it was quiet for a long time then,

"I'm scared." The whisper was so quiet that Gregor wasn't sure if he'd imagined it. But then he heard her soft sobs and knew it was real.

"Lizzie." He said soothingly, but Lizzie was not to be soothed with a word.

"What is they aren't there Gregor? What if we get to the Underland and everyone's gone? What if they've forgotten us? What if Regalia's been overrun by cutters? What if rats and humans are at war again? What if we can't get on the airplane? What if the plane crashes? What if the apartment building had been knocked down and the rock in central park paved over?" Lizzie continued asking what if, her scenarios getting more and more farfetched and Gregor let her. Not only was it better for her to let it all out, but she was voicing his own fears. He had no idea if the Regalians were still there, or even if they would allow him to stay. But he had to be strong for his siblings, just like he had to be strong when his dad was missing, and when his dad was sick, and on the quests, and when his mom was sick and stuck in Regalia and again when his parents were sick in Virginia. Taking care of sick parents, taking care of his sisters, being the warrior, defeating the Bane, finding the cure, saving his dad, were all his responsibilities. And it was his responsibility now to tell Lizzie that everything thing was going to be fine, so that's what he did.

* * *

The trio made it onto the airplane with the note that Gregor had tricked his great-aunt into signing, which said that they had permission to fly without and legal adult. The plane ride was mostly uneventful other than a small panic attack from Lizzie during a particularly strong period of turbulence. Lizzie disliked flying, it made her nervous. But Boots loved it. The last time she had been on a plane was on their way _to_ Virginia 5 years ago and she had been too young to remember it. She didn't remember New York either; she didn't remember the small dinners, small apartment, never having enough in their old life. But she knew what she had been told about her past, and she knew that every time she thought of the Underland, she got a warm feeling inside, like she was supposed to be there. Before they knew it they were touching down at JFK and Gregor was whisking them through the crowds, holding Boots in one arm, and Lizzie's hand in the other. They all packed into a taxi and drove though the streets, headed towards their old apartment building. Gregor had figured that the vent was the best way to get to the Underland, the entrance at Central Park was too public and too far from Regalia. And he wanted to see Mrs. C before they left the surface, for what he hoped would be the last time. They were there faster than Gregor had realized and as they stumbled out of the taxi in front of the building Gregor remembered so well, he got nervous butterflies in his stomach, this was it. He was finally going home.


End file.
